


Boyfriend?

by Blue_Hood



Category: Deadpool (Movieverse), Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Defenders (Marvel TV), X-Men (Movieverse)
Genre: Alliances, Alternate Universe, Background Relationships, Bisexual Male Character, Coming Out, Dark Past, Fae & Fairies, Party, Past Child Abuse, Past Relationship(s), Post-War, Rare Pairings, Singing, Supernatural Elements, Team as Family, Urban Legends, Vampires, Werewolves, Witch Darcy Lewis, Witch Hunters, Witches, Writer John Allerdyce, teacher
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-07-08
Updated: 2019-07-15
Packaged: 2020-06-24 09:10:23
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 9
Words: 12,280
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19720621
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Blue_Hood/pseuds/Blue_Hood
Summary: After fighting off Thanos' invasion, Pyro ran to Deadpool





	1. Aftermath

We won, Captain America said and his fellow founding Avengers chuckled at the inside joke. Taking the declaration as a sign the battle was over, Pyro ran to the red suited mercenary dragging katanas through fallen aliens "We actually won."

"Wahoo!" Deadpool cheered "Can I keep killing aliens?"

"Unfortunately no, the rest are for the Nova Corps."

"Damnit."

"My, uh, my team is watching us." Pyro said with a glance over his shoulder.

"Uh-huh, so are mine but they're always watching."

"To make sure you don't accidentally kill allies?"

"Something like that."

"Well, I think only-"

Pyro was cut off by Wolverine coming over and asking point-blank "Are you two dating?" Never one to beat around the bush and tired of listening to speculation.

Pyro put an arm around Deadpool's shoulder "Yes, he's my boyfriend. I'm bi."

"Boyfriend?" repeated Deadpool with glee.

Pyro turned to him, nodding "Yes but boyfriend means exclusive for both of us."

"Of course. I, I," Wolverine had returned to the team to end the debating.

Pyro cut him off, pulling up the mercenary's mask to kiss his mangled lips. "I don't like kissing the mask." He stepped back and put a hand to his ear, an unnecessary gesture before speaking into his coms, "Alright. Let's get everyone under our command on the Blackbird, dead or alive, except for Sabretooth. This battlefield is now Damage Control territory. I'm going to speak with the Avengers then I'll join you in rounding everyone up." With Deadpool flanking him, he walked over to an out-of-armor Tony Stark "Sabretooth needs to ride with you."

"What?"

"Look, we have a lot of injured mutants to round up before Damage Control or whoever gets here. Sabretooth doesn't stay injured so he can and should leave now, can he ride with you? You said before this began that anyone who fought Thanos would be welcome to the victory celebration, you're going to the same place he is. Also, mind if we use your medical facilities? Your base is closer than ours."

Tony's genius mind processed everything as it was said "Alright, the Tiger can ride with us and yes you can patch your people up at the Tower." Pyro nodded, raising his hand to his com before Tony finished with "You and Deadpool can ride with us too."

"Alright." Pyro hit his com "We're using Stark Tower's medical facilities for expediency. Rogue, if you don't mind helping the doctors, your ability to transfer powers might save lives." He got confirmation before turning off his com to greet Sabretooth "Hope you weren't lying to me, Creed."

"Lying?" Tony was confused as the mutants boarded his Quinjet "What?"

Pyro said "If he's not lying, you'll see soon enough. I think all your people are on board, ready for take off." Tony nodded and sat down, strapping in.


	2. Arrival

When they arrived at the Tower, one Darcy Lewis was waiting just inside. Their three hitchhikers were among the first off the jet and she ran to Victor, who crouched to catch her and used her momentum to pick her up. "That's your girl?" asked Pyro. "You can, of course, duck out of the party." As the feral walked away, holding Darcy, "Just one thing you should know first." Victor stopped. "Because you fought in this battle, your record's gonna be clean. No warrants, your attempted execution in Vietnam will probably become an honorable discharge making you a decorated veteran. This broadens your horizons some. You're not a fugitive anymore, same with Deadpool and the Punisher." A few people groaned behind him, "Not that I think the last one will last but you and Deadpool have a shot at staying on the right side of the law. That's all, I wanted to tell you." Victor gave a quick nod.

Tony smiled at Pyro when he turned around to explain what he just said, since apparently it was privileged knowledge. Catching a few more strange smiles, he asked "What?"

Jessica Jones, who was not smiling- did she ever smile?- answered "Your anonymity rule's no longer in effect."

"Yeah, so? I lost that anonymity with Magneto's trial. My name's St. John Allerdyce, but because people mispronounce my first name as two words, I go by John."

Looking between him and Deadpool, she asked "Are you a published writer?"

John nodded "John Wilson, nice catch. I, uh, don't really like my father for reasons, so I use Deadpool's last name because the stories come from his ramblings."

Jess nodded "That explains the note about your muse."

John shrugged "If I wrote using my real name, people might think I'm schizophrenic or something with my past painting me in a pretty poor light as it is."

Luke gave Jess a strange look and she explained "My sister gave me a couple of the books as gifts. She swore I'd like them and wouldn't talk to me until I started reading them, apparently she got the first one as a gift."

"If she's a fan, I'd be happy to sign it. I don't really do author-y things aside from keeping the first print." He shrugged "I don't really use the money either but I still count the income on my taxes."

Tony smirked "You're a mutant best-selling author."

"Fire and writing have always been two things I love. I went to a school for mutants and got in more trouble for writing in class than burning stuff." Looking behind him, he said "I think your girlfriend's waiting for you, Tony, and someone needs to move the jet so the Blackbird can land. A few gurneys for the injured wouldn't hurt either. I saw parts of a building fall on a couple mutants I know can't shrug that kind of think off."

Tony said "Right. Barton? You got this?"

Clint nodded "Yup." The rest of the Avengers deplaned and went inside, Pyro and Deadpool leading.

Swiping a tablet, Pyro opened a writing app and began conversing silently with JARVIS as Deadpool read over his shoulder "You're making song requests?"

"There's a couple songs that my friends and I have memorized, they'll get a kick out of singing along with them here. Colossus sings better drunk than sober. If they're a little tipsy, they'll turn the songs into a serenade. I don't drink."

"What do you mean you don't drink?"

Pyro got up and met the Blackbird, pleased to find gurneys waiting with Stark medical staff. He handed the tablet to Scott "JARVIS and I are working on a playlist of the songs we can sing to drunk. Wanna add a few?" He smirked and nodded while Pyro turned to the medical team "Need any help?"

The Phoenix shook her head "No, I think we got it."

"Alright, I was just offering to cauterize quickly."

Doctor Grey considered the offer "That's fine, we're taking them all down now."

Pyro beat her to the chase "I know, I'll need to do full scans tomorrow and at least a brain scan today to check for a concussion before I sleep on it."

"We have enough help here, you can go get ready for the party."

"Planning on it." Pyro boarded the jet to grab his case from one of the compartments. A few others had already done the same thing but those heading to the med-bay didn't bother since they were already changing into scrubs down there. Everyone fighting to save the planet had a case, which held the armor Tony made for them based on their usual uniforms. Even the Punisher, who wasn't very popular among any circles, had armor with his signature skull on it. Jessica Jones and Luke Cage's armor looked more casual than anybody else's because they didn't wear special suits.

Deadpool followed Pyro back into the Tower, where the mutant asked Pepper Potts for directions then repeated those directions with a muttered "Logan" so the feral mutant could relay them. Once they were away from people in one of the guest rooms, Deadpool asked "What do you mean you don't drink?" The short trip had been filled with schizophrenic chatter. "Is it a power thing?"

"Yes," Pyro answered as he began pulling the clothes he'd packed in the case on. "Mutant powers can get a little out of hand when said mutant is drunk. For Iceman that means he can make a winter wonderland anywhere. For Shadowcat, she phases through everything. Colossus, his skin will flip between flesh and metal a lot. Me, I have to worry about burning down everything around me when my inhibitors shut down. Not just because I have fire powers but,"

"Because of your pyromania," finished Deadpool. "Sorry I asked."

"It's okay. I just have to be careful. When I first manifested, I could only manipulate fire. After the Phoenix awoke, she did something to me so now I can create fire. I just prefer not to because I haven't found a quick on-off switch aside from getting so pissed off I can't think straight, which isn't actually good in a fight because my friend-foe recognition gets scrambled."

"Oh," Deadpool really wishes he hadn't mentioned it.

John wrapped his arms around the mercenary, "Remember what I said to Sabretooth about widened horizons, I meant marriage is now in the cards for both of us."

"Really? Is this a proposal? Because-"

John's chuckle cut him off "No, it's not a proposal. I'd like my friends to meet my boyfriend before we take that step."

"You'd really marry me?"

"Of course." Keeping one hand on his boyfriend's shoulder, John grabbed the case with the other before swinging his arm back over Deadpool's shoulder, holding the case with both hands. "What's say we head out, let someone else have this room to change in."

"Yes!" Back to his usual excited self, Deadpool ignored the case hitting him in the head as he ran to the door "Come on!" John jogged after him, handing his case off to Kurt as the teleporter passed by with his own case.


	3. Introductions

When John reached Deadpool, his boyfriend asked "What took you so long?" Even though John came to a stop less than a minute after Deadpool.

"I handed Kurt my case," answered John. "You wanna meet my friends before the party gets underway?"

"Do I ever," receiving his answer, John only half-listened to Deadpool's ramblings, assuring the man his friends wouldn't hate or try to kill him.

"Hey, Bobby."

"Hey, John. So, uh, you're-"

"Bi, yes. This is Wade Wilson, my boyfriend."

"Bi?"

"I told Logan, he didn't tell you."

"He said you were boyfriends and left it at that."

"Yes, I'm bi."

Bobby seemed to relax, "Good."

"Uh, I'm gonna let that slide since I don't know what the appropriate response to coming out is. Listen, I'm trying to introduce him around before the party starts because of the loud music. I'm gonna go, do that. K?"

Next, "Hey, Kitty, Piotr." Everyone had learned about Piotr's family immigrating when Charles recruited the big guy, making the most of the opportunity granted to the young man by moving to America as a family. John even told Wade. "This is my boyfriend, Wade Wilson."

Kitty made the connection "Wilson, like your pen name."

"Yup, my stories are based on his ramblings." As though to prove his point, Deadpool had barely paused in talking to himself when he was introduced. "Anyway, I'm not gay, I'm bi, we both are."

"That's good to hear, I mean I'm happy for you."

"I think the second one is the appropriate response but since I've never had to come out before, I'm not sure."

"You never came out to your parents?"

"Mom's dead, dad's an asshole who doesn't give a shit about me. Why would I?"

"Right, sometimes I forget."

"Big part of the reason I didn't try to publish until I had a last name I could use."

"You should publish your own works, they're great and you won't need to use the warning."

"Yeah. Warning: my muse obligates me to mention that not only is he real, he also made up none of this story. To the rest of us, this is a fictional story based on true ramblings." John smiled "It goes something like that, yeah?"

"I think so."

"I'll see you later, I still have few introductions to make before the party starts and the music makes talking harder." John led Wade by the hand to see Scott talking to Storm, "Hey. I'm gonna make this quick since I doubt you were in the gossip party Logan told. This is Wade Wilson, my boyfriend. We're both bi and I took his last name for my pen name. Alright? Great."

Scott gently put a hand on his friend's shoulder "Woah, woah, woah." He moved his hand to offer it to Wade, "Nice to meet you. I'm Scott Summers."

"Nice to meet you, Scotty." Deadpool said before turning to Storm "Lightning lady."

Storm wore an amused expression "My name is Ororo Munroe, my codename is Storm."

"Like I said, lightning lady. I guess Storm is a little cooler." Deadpool turned to John "Anybody else?"

"Uh, those in the med bay are the only people here who should know but don't." John shrugged "I think we're good." Hank, Jean and Rogue were all working in the med bay with Rogue giving patients a small dose of healing factor before they could code. John asked Scott "Where's the tablet?"

"I gave it to Iron Fist."

John shrugged "As long as you didn't lose it, I don't care. I picked it up from the bar, which is why it's connected to JARVIS." He turned to Deadpool "Any Avengers you want me to meet?"

"Nope, they already know about us."

"Then we're all set with introductions."


	4. Jubilee

The party was in full swing when Jubilee got off the elevator, walking right over to Pyro and Deadpool. The latter said "You must be Jubilee, nice to meet you. I'm Deadpool, Wade Wilson, the Merc with the Mouth,"

"The Regeneratin' Degenerate," finished John. "It is nice to see you, Jubes."

"Is this your boyfriend?"

"Yup," answered John, popping the p.

Jubilee looked carefully at Deadpool, nodding to herself before turning back to John "We need to talk later."

"O-kay. About?"

"We'll talk later. Right now, I'm at an Avengers party and I'm not gonna waste the opportunity."

"Who's with the Professor?"

"Leech stuck around, instead of going with the others."

Wade said "He probably doesn't like feeling like a leech. I doubt he's very popular among those who like their mutations."

John shrugged "He does alright. He can control his range now, almost like suppressing his own mutation."

"Ah," said Wade.

"See ya around, Jubes."

"See ya, John, Wade."

"That wasn't weird at all," said Wade after Jubilee walked away.

"She's one of my best friends, it's just, she's also a psychologist and a good one too."

"Really? You dated a shrink?"

"We were both in high school, she wasn't a shrink back then. Anyway, we good, Wade?"

"Yeah, we're good."


	5. Songs

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Just the songs the mutants chose, not much plot.

No one was surprised by the opening to a rock song playing because most knew Tony Stark listened to a lot of rock, he was even wearing a band T-shirt at the party. No one, that is, except for Tony. A minute and a half into the song came the lyrics, "When darkness falls; May it be; That we should see the light." The lights flickered, JARVIS taking credit for the song.

Most of the actual X-Men, not honorary members, walked forward as they sang “When reaper calls; May it be; That we walk straight and right.”

“When doubt returns; May it be; That faith shall permeate our scars.” They crossed one arm over their chest in the symbol for fealty.

“When we're seduced; Then may it be; That we not deviate our cause.” Cyclops ducked his head, a reminder of why he had briefly joined the Brotherhood.

“All sinners, a future, they waved their hands one way. “All saints, a past,” They gestured the other way. “Beginning, the ending; Return to ash. Now that we're dead, my dear; We can be together; Now that we're dead, my dear; We can live forever.”

“When all is pain; May it be; It's all we've ever known.” Pyro’s shoulders slumped with the words.

“When flame consumes; May it be; It warms our dying bones.” They all perked back up.

“When loss has won; May it be; It's you I'm madly fighting for.” Turning to their partners, they serenaded them with the words.

“When Kingdom comes; May it be; We walk right through that open door.” A few raced through the balcony door.

They repeated the gestures with the chorus “All sinners, a future. All saints, a past. Beginning, the ending; Return to ash. Now that we're dead, my dear; We can be together. Now that we're dead, my dear; We can live forever.” The song came to a close with the chorus sung twice before the words “Beyond the black, we rise again; We shall live forever.”

* * *

After the first song, Tony understood that the X-Men had picked a few to be played. When the second Metallica song played, John shouted “I am not singing this one.” He never did, which was a thing with the X-Men.

After the long, metal instrumental opening, John’s team sang the song at him “Bitterness and burden; curses rest on thee. Solitaire and sorrow; all eternity.” Catching on, a few others searched the lyrics to find the full song.

“Save the Earth and claim perfection. Deem the mass and blame rejection. Hold the pose, reign perception. Grudges break your back,” Steve was the next victim on the song, his perfect image making him perfect for the second verse.

“All you bear, all you carry. All you bear, place it right on, right on me.” Pepper smiled as Tony became one of the song’s victims, as those singing all focused on one person at a time.

Daredevil was next, still in his suit “Die as you suffer in vain. Own all the grief and the pain. Die as you hold up the skies. Atlas, Rise!”

Bruce was next, “How does it feel on your own? Bound by the world all alone. Crushed under heavy skies. Atlas, Rise!”

Luke Cage, who was pretty cool if a bit of a martyr himself (practically a theme among street level heroes) got the words “Crucify and witness, circling the sun. Bastardize and ruin; what have you become?”

Frank Castle, of all people, was sung at. “Blame the world, and blame your maker. Wish ‘em to the undertaker. Crown yourself the other savior. So you carry on,” the words surprisingly fitting.

The teams turned to their respective martyrs for the pre-chorus “All you bear, all you carry. All you bear, place it right on, right on me.”

Set on giving everyone their due, the first half of the chorus was sung at Spider-Man, who -while angsty- wasn’t as bad as the others “Die as you suffer in vain. Own all the grief and the pain. Die as you hold up the skies. Atlas, Rise!”

Logan got the second half, as a shout-out to his long life, Pepper mused. “How does it feel on your own? Bound by the world all alone. Crushed under heavy skies, crushed under heavy skies. Atlas, Rise!”

“Masquerade as maker,” this part went to Loki, “Heavy is the crown. Beaten down and broken, drama wears you down.”

“Overload, the martyr stumbles.” Ghost Rider, or his host Robbie Reyes, was the target of this verse. “Hit the ground and heaven crumbles,” which was quite fitting if Pepper understood the whole demonic spirit of vengeance thing. “All alone, the fear shall humble. Swallow all your pride.”

All martyrs sung to between choruses became the victims of the pre-chorus “All you bear, all you carry. All you bear, place it right on, right on me.”

Tony turned to Pepper, singing the first half of the chorus at her, “Die as you suffer in vain. Own all the grief and the pain. Die as you hold up the skies. Atlas, Rise!”

“How does it feel on your own?” Running out of ideas, everyone took a moment to find someone to sing to. The Guardians became the last victims, even as a few sang along themselves. “Bound by the world all alone. Crushed under heavy skies, crushed under heavy skies. Atlas, Rise!” Pepper knew they all had tragic stories, making the song seem insensitive but everyone, including her, had been good natured about being sung at.

* * *

With an eerie opening, the last of the mutants' hand-picked Metallica songs played. Those who knew the songs led the others in dancing, starting with the hands together in prayer gesture “Say your prayers, little one; Don't forget, my son, to include everyone.” At the last word, they gestured around the room.

They mimed tucking someone in, “I tuck you in, warm within, keep you free from sin till the Sandman he comes.” Waving to an invisible person to come closer. Between their song choices, word had gotten around that they listed to and sang the songs a lot.

Closing one eye “Sleep with one eye open, gripping your pillow tight.” As before, JARVIS participated by making the lights flicker. “Exit light, enter night.” Taking each other’s hands, “Take my hand, we're off to Never—, Neverland.”

“Something's wrong, shut the light.” Lights shut off for a moment as they pointed to their heads, the gesture to invite a telepath “Heavy thoughts tonight and they aren't of Snow White.”

“Dreams of war, dreams of liars, dreams of dragon's fire and of things that will bite.”

With the chorus, they repeated their previous moves, “Sleep with one eye open, gripping your pillow tight. Exit light, enter night. Take my hand, we're off to Never—, Neverland.”

Those who knew the song made the prayer gesture for the next verse, “Now I lay me down to sleep, pray the Lord my soul to keep. If I die before I wake, pray the Lord my soul to take.”

Putting a finger over their lips “Hush little baby, don't say a word.” Waving a hand dismissively “And never mind that noise you heard.” Crouching as though to look under something “It's just the beasts under your bed.” Looking around before pointing to their heads, “In your closet, in your head.”

“Exit light, enter night.” After flickering the lights, JARVIS projected holographic sand “Grain of sand.”

As the song ended, everyone sang and danced along “Exit light, enter night. Take my hand, we're off to Never—, Neverland. We're off to Never—, Neverland. Take my hand, we're off to Never—, Neverland. Take my hand, we're off to Never—, Neverland. We're off to Never—, Neverland. We're off to Never—, Neverland. We're off to Never—, Neverland.”

* * *

After the Metallica songs, Pepper had asked Kitty if all of the songs were rock songs which sparked a conversation about the performances. Pyro waved at the ceiling until JARVIS paused the song. Noticing the sudden lack of music, everyone turned to the man waving his hands wildly “In case you didn’t hear, or in case you hadn’t figured it out by how prepared we are, a few of us picked some songs to play.” He shook his head “Anyway, some of the songs like this one, uh,”

As he floundered, Bobby took over “The song he just paused is Journey’s Worlds Apart. Some song choices have more meaning behind them than just we like them and we know all the words. Worlds Apart is kind of a love song, kind of a heartbreak song, it’s kinda complicated but what isn’t in our world.” He chuckled at the accidental pun “Anyway, I think this one might’ve been chosen with certain people in mind. Let’s just get on with the song.”

“Here we stand, worlds apart.” The couples stood apart, facing each other as they made a heart with their hands over their chest and broke it in half along with the words “Hearts broken in two, two, two.” Putting a hand on their head as though feeling faint, they stumbled “Sleepless nights, losing ground. I'm reaching for you, you, you.” Finally they reached out to each other without touching.

Wearing mock sad faces, they sang “Feelin' that it's gone, can't change your mind. If we can't go on to survive the tide, love divides.”

As the beat picked up, so did they. Looking around with the verse “Someday love will find you, break those chains that bind you.” Pulling their arms apart as though breaking shackles. “One night will remind you, how we touched and went our separate ways.” They gently touched their partner’s chest before turning and walking away to other partners. Glancing back to their first partner, they pretended to get angry with the vow “If he ever hurts you, true love won't desert you.” Coming in close to touch before splitting again for the words, “You know I still love you, though we touched and went our separate ways.”

Pulling the faint gesture they looked up at the ceiling to sing “Troubled times; caught between confusions and pain, pain, pain. Distant eyes; promises we made were in vain, in vain, vain.”

Looking longingly at their partner, they sang “If you must go, I wish you love. You'll never walk alone. Take care, my love. Miss you, love.”

With the chorus, others joined the X-Men in their dance “Someday love will find you, break those chains that bind you. One night will remind you, how we touched and went our separate ways. If he ever hurts you, true love won't desert you. You know I still love you, though we touched and went our separate ways” After an awesome instrumental riff, the lyrics continued “Oooooooooh. Someday love will find you, break those chains that bind you. One night will remind you;” They were all dancing now. “If he ever hurts you, true love won't desert you. You know I still love you.”

Emphasis was put on the closing verse “I still love you, girl. I really love you, girl. And if he ever hurts you, true love won't desert you. Nooooooooo, nooooooooo.”

* * *

As the opening guitar solo played, Danny Rand got the lyrics off Shazam and started dancing. Others followed his moves, which continued the theme of miming by bouncing up and down like a boxer then punching the air along with the opening words “Climb into the ring for a battle that you can't win. Swing as hard as you can swing, it will still mean nothing.” His head went on a suspicious swivel, “Should’ve seen it coming, it had to happen sometime. But you went and brought a knife to an all out gun fight.” He mimed a martial arts move with nunchucks, which works just as well with a switchblade, before fake shooting. Danny didn’t even notice all eyes on him as others followed his lead.

“And the only thing to save is the banner that you wave, to be wrapped around your grave.” Through the fast spoken words, he pretended to wave a flag.

“You’ve gone too far!” as he sang, the young X-Men sang back up with the words “Get up, get up.”

“Who do you think you are?” Half the room sang with Danny, drowning out the back up words “Get up so we can finish this.”

“Is this what you came for?” Daredevil joined young X-Men in chanting “Get up, get up.”

“Well this means war!” They sang the last lines “Get up so we can finish this.”

“Say anything you want but talk will get you nowhere,” hand miming talking lips. “The only thing you've brought was psychological warfare,” Pointing to his head. “Well there’s no getting out,” looking around frantically. “And now you got to wonder,” a considering expression. “Who will dig you out when you’re six feet under?” Looking down in fright.

As words repeated so did the dance moves. “And the only thing to save is the banner that you wave, to be wrapped around your grave.”

Danny “You’ve gone too far!” Daredevil “Get up, get up.”

Danny “Who do you think you are?” Daredevil “Get up so we can finish this.”

Danny “Is this what you came for?” Daredevil “Get up, get up.”

Danny “Well this means war!” Daredevil “Get up so we can finish this.”

Everyone “And the only thing to save is the banner that you wave, to be wrapped around your grave.”

Danny “You’ve gone too far!” Daredevil “Get up, get up.”

Danny “Who do you think you are?” Daredevil “Get up so we can finish this.”

Danny “Is this what you came for?” Daredevil “Get up, get up.”

Danny “Well this means war!” Daredevil “Get up so we can finish this.”

Everyone sang the closing line “Well this means war!”

* * *

A deep voice came over the speakers, “He who makes a beast out of himself, gets rid of the pain of being a man.”

As the song truly began, John covered his outstretched arms in flames “Caught here in a fiery blaze, won't lose my will to stay.” He looked forward, eyes taking on an impressive haunted quality “I tried to drive all through the night. The heat stroke ridden weather, the barren empty sights. No oasis here to see, the sand is singing deathless words to me.”

The small flames licking his wrists grew “Can't you help me as I'm startin' to burn.”

Wade sang backup “All alone.”

John mimed swallowing the flames “Too many doses and I'm starting to get an attraction.” Looking around nervously, he sang “My confidence is leaving me on my own.”

Wade sang “All alone.”

“No one can save me and you know I don't want the attention.” He seemed to jump back from everyone’s attention. They were bobbing to the music, watching him.

Starting the next stanza, he angled flames to make his eyes glow slightly as separate flames beneath him enabled him to levitate “As I adjust to my new sights, the rarely tired lights will take me to new heights.” Most of the room were surprised by his lift-off. They either didn’t know or forgot that John could levitate on fire, though not as well as Erik or Jean could levitate because he rarely practiced the ability.

Making finger guns, he landed with a whoosh of flames “My hand is on the trigger I'm ready to ignite.” Shrugging the next line “Tomorrow might not make it but everything's all right.” 

Deadpool took over for the last line “Mental fiction, follow me; show me what it's like to be set free.”

Flames engulfed John, “Can't you help me as I'm startin' to burn.”

“All alone.”

The unholy gleam in his eyes replaced eating fire, “Too many doses and I'm starting to get an attraction.” Instead of losing confidence, he jumped over a couch, as if hiding. “My confidence is leaving me on my own.”

“All alone.”

John peeked over the couch before ducking down with the words “No one can save me and you know I don't want the attention.”

Looking sad, he stared into space with unfocused eyes. “So sorry you're not here, I've been chained too long, my vision's so unclear. Now take a trip with me but don't be surprised when things aren't what they seem,” glancing at the crowd.

The flames he kept small engulfed him again as he rose “Caught here in a fiery blaze, won't lose my will to stay.” The flames retreated to cover his eyes as he flipped back over the couch. “These eyes won't see the same, after I flip today.”

The flames grew and shrank randomly as John looked at the ceiling through the verse, “Sometimes I don't know why we'd rather live than die. We look up towards the sky for answers to our lives. We may get some solutions but most just pass us by. Don't want your absolution cause I can't make it right. I'll make a beast out of myself, gets rid of all the pain of being a man.”

The fire covered him as he did the pyromaniac routine with Wade singing backup “Can't you help me as I'm startin' to burn. Too many doses and I'm starting to get an attraction. My confidence is leaving me on my own. No one can save me and you know I don't want the attention.”

Wade closed the song with his own routine, “So sorry you're not here, I've been sane too long my vision's so unclear.” Pulling on the mask as though pulling his hair out before extending a hand in invitation “Now take a trip with me but don't be surprised when things aren't what they seem.” Following the lyrics, Deadpool’s unhinged personality still spilled through “I've known it from the start all these good ideas will tear your brain apart. Scared but you can follow me. I'm too weird to live but much too rare to die.”

* * *

For one song, everyone sang along to their own moves. Tony even pulled Pepper into a dance,  "Rag Doll livin' in a movie. Hot tramp, Daddy's little cutie You're so fine they'll never see ya leavin' by the back door, mam. Hot time get it while it's easy. Don't mind come on up and see me. Rag Doll baby won't you do me like you done before."

Other than Steve, all the guys got into the second verse "I'm feelin' like a bad boy. Mm just a like a bad boy. I'm rippin' up a Rag Doll, like throwin' away an old toy. Some babe's talkin' real loud, talkin' all about the new crowd, try and tell me of an old dream. A new version of the old scene. Speakeasy on the grapevine, keep shufflin' in a shoe shine. Old tin lizzy do it till you're dizzy. Give it all ya got until you're put out of your misery."

"Rag Doll livin' in a movie. Hot tramp Daddy's little cutie. You're so fine they'll never see ya leavin' by the back door, mam. Hot time get it while it's easy." Different people pulled accents for the last line of the chorus "Don't mind come on up and see me. Rag Doll baby won't you do me like you done before."

There was something to be said for the fact that everyone, even aliens who'd been on Earth for only a couple weeks, were familiar Aerosmith. Then again, Peter Quill loves the classics, playing them on a Walkman. "Yes I'm movin'. Yes I'm movin'. Get ready for the big time. Tap dancing on a landmine. Yes I'm movin'. Yes I'm movin'. Old tin lizzy do it till you're dizzy. Give it all ya got until you're put out of your misery."

Everyone was dancing like it was the 80s "Rag Doll livin' in a movie. Hot tramp Daddy's little cutie. You're so fine they'll never see ya leavin' by the back door, mam. Hot time get it while it's easy. Don't mind come on up and see me. Rag Doll, baby won't ya do me, baby won't ya do me; baby won't ya do me like you done before."

"Yes I'm movin'. Yes I'm movin'. Get ready for the big time. Get crazy on the moon shine. Yes I'm movin'. I'm really movin'. Sloe gin fizzy, do it till you're dizzy. Give it all ya got until you're put out of your misery." Do-it-till-you're-dizzy was taken as a command, most people spun during the line.

"Rag Doll livin' in a movie. Hot tramp Daddy's little cutie. You're so fine they'll never see ya leavin' by the back door, mam. Hot time get it while it's easy. Don't mind come on up and see me. Rag Doll baby won't you do me like you done before." As the song came to an end, everyone's mood had improved. Even Jessica Jones and Frank Castle, who had reputations for never smiling, couldn't stay grim through such a happy, upbeat song.

* * *

As Coldplay began, couples turned to each other. Serenading their partner in their own ways.

Without miming a book, John pretended to read. “I've been reading books of old, the legends and the myths.” His eyes gleamed with fake greed “Achilles and his gold.” Fire followed his hand up in the triumphant gesture of a raised fist “Hercules and his gifts.” The fire snaked around his wrist for “Spiderman's control; and Batman with his fists.” Lowering his fist, letting the flames die back down to liking his wrist, he sang “And clearly I don't see myself upon that list.”

Tony looked into Pepper’s eyes, “But she said, where’d you wanna go? How much you wanna risk?” His arms wrapped around her as they swayed together “I'm not looking for somebody with some superhuman gifts. Some superhero, some fairytale bliss. Just something I can turn to, Somebody I can kiss.” Almost all couples kissed on the word.

Luke and Jess danced near each other, stealing glances “I want something just like this. Doo-doo-doo, doo-doo-doo. Doo-doo-doo, doo-doo-doo. Doo-doo-doo, doo-doo-doo.” Coming close, they swayed together “Oh, I want something just like this. Doo-doo-doo, doo-doo-doo. Doo-doo-doo, doo-doo-doo. Doo-doo-doo, doo-doo-doo. Oh, I want something just like this.” Kissing with the last “I want something just like this.”

Bobby held Rogue close, the novelty of touching having long run its course. “I've been reading books of old, the legends and the myths.” Couples all around the room turned to look out at the night sky during the line. “The testaments they told; the moon and its eclipse.” Stepping back with a smirk on his face, Bobby effected a longing expression towards Thor, who had not changed out of his armor “And Superman unrolls a suit before he lifts.” He smiled at Rogue, singing “but I'm not the kind of person that it fits.”

Kitty and Piotr harmonized the chorus, swaying together. “She said, where'd you wanna go? How much you wanna risk? I'm not looking for somebody with some superhuman gifts. Some superhero, some fairytale bliss. Just something I can turn to, somebody I can miss.”

“I want something just like this, I want something just like this, I want something just like this.” The party was a picture of loving couples, those not in a relationship having paired up on an earlier song. “Doo-doo-doo, doo-doo-doo. Doo-doo-doo, doo-doo-doo. Doo-doo-doo, doo-doo-doo. Oh, I want something just like this. Doo-doo-doo, doo-doo. Doo-doo-doo, doo-doo-doo. Doo-doo-doo, doo-doo-doo.”

Voices picked up for the final chorus “Where'd you wanna go? How much you wanna risk? I'm not looking for somebody with some superhuman gifts. Some superhero, some fairytale bliss. Just something I can turn to, somebody I can kiss.”

No one sang the closer, too caught up in their special someone or breaking apart after an awkward kiss “I want something just like this. Oh, I want something just like this. Oh, I want something just like this. Oh, I want something just like this.”   


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The songs in this chapter are:  
> Metallica - Now That We're Dead; Atlas, Rise; Enter Sandman   
> Journey - Worlds Apart  
> Nickelback - This Means War   
> Avenged Sevenfold - Bat Country  
> Aerosmith - Rag Doll  
> Coldplay - Something Just Like This


	6. Home

During the party, the Blackbird made a few trips to Mutant Town then Hell's Kitchen to drop off allies. Rather than risk those seriously injured, Jean had decided to consult on and monitor the cases of those in the Tower infirmary. As Avengers began retiring for the night, the X-Men made sure they all had the cases with their uniforms before flying home. Being such a late hour, the mansion was silent. John showed Wade his classroom, the other man's eyes immediately latched onto the books lined up atop filing cabinets. Above the publisher's logo in red lettering on each was the name "Wilson?"

"My pen name is John Wilson, they only put the last name on the spine." John said "The students will move back in soon, now that the battle is over, I figured you should know where I am during the day. That is, if you're staying?"

"You really want me?" The shock in Wade's voice hurt the more John heard it.

"Yes." Before he could blink, the over-excitable mercenary was squeezing the living daylights out of him. John pulled hard to free one arm then the other before returning the embrace "Let's head to bed, if you would please let go of me."

Wade pulled back, asking as they walked "So, what do you teach?"

"Creative writing but I'm licensed to teach any English class from the eighth grade level up. I'm also certified to teach other languages but since Piotr grew up in Russia, he's more qualified than I could ever be."

"Because English is a foreign language to him?"

"Sorta, he's lived in America for so long that he's gone native but it was his first language." When they arrived at his door, he pointed to the doors on either side "Piotr and Kitty share a room, Rogue and Bobby share that one. They're all high school sweethearts. This is my room." As they entered, Wade looked around. His eyes caught on a desk cluttered with notebooks, loose leaf paper, a tablet was propped up by a stack of books, a laptop was visible in the drawer under the workstation, the shelves were taken up by books. "I use my classroom desk for school stuff, that's where I write my novels. It's a mess. I'll need to record you tomorrow, my muse."

Wade smiled, "I love you. Why won't you say the words? It's driving me nuts."

"Let's get some sleep, save those nuts for tomorrow." John hoped his friends would explain for him. He didn't know how to tell Wade he didn't believe in the words, that they meant anything without ruining relationships.

The next day no one who'd been at the party woke up long before noon. Sitting down for brunch, Wade badgered John for an explanation for why he wouldn't say I love you. Bobby saved his best friend "John doesn't believe in the words, he thinks they've lost most of their meaning."

John said "I prefer to express my emotions rather than say what I feel and move on."

Wade was shocked "That's so sweet." He flung his arms around his boyfriend.

"You have an unnatural amount of energy for so early in the morning."

"Blame the author."

"You realize I'm an author."

"Only because Blue didn't want you to be a mopey, guilt-ridden pyromaniac. Blue wanted you to be happy and redeemed."

"Speaking of redeemed, I need to check to see if my team and I qualify for the pardon you got."

"You probably do."

"Let go, Wade." As his boyfriend lowered his arms, John gave him a quick hug.

Kitty asked "What's on the agenda?"

"We have some reconstruction work, I have to check on the pardon situation and record Wade for the next book. I have a few ideas started," John trailed off and refocused "We should try to make the most of this time without students, do some things that we can't do with kids running around."

Logan said "I'll stay here with Kitty for that while you're all working reconstruction."

"Which is a fancy way of saying clearing rubble," added Wade before everyone broke off into their own conversation.


	7. Writing

As they were about to leave to clear rubble, John said "Change of plans, apparently reconstruction is done."

"Doctor Strange must've used the eye," said Wade.

"Right. I'll be in my room, working with Wade on the next book. And no, that's not innuendo."

"What does a creative writing teacher teach?" asked Wade as they went back up the stairs. "Let me guess, formatting."

"The world is full of squares. I try to help my students understand that being different, thinking differently is more than okay. But yes, I grade on formatting and how well they followed the basic parameters I gave them."

"The author must be feeling really insightful. I wonder if Blue will cut this part out later. Clearly making you a creative writing teacher is a shout out to the arsonist's lullaby."

"Wade, save it for the recording."

"So what ideas you want to work on?"

"The DC stuff, fictional heroes sell."

"The Justice League is as fictional as you and me, baby."

"Still, fanfiction doesn't do as well. I can write it and publish it on sites but I can't sell it to my editor." When they sat down, John set the tablet between them "Go." Wade rambled about the Flash, Harley Quinn and anything else he could think of. "These stories really sell as regular novels."

"Some do, some are published as graphic novels. My editor has had to hire an illustrator for my books."

"Some of your fans like you for comic books."

"Yeah." John finished writing in his notebook. "If you wouldn't mind, real stories sell too."

"What am I? Your golden goose?"

"You are definitely gold and mine."

"Aw, that's so sweet."

"I'm warning you now, Wade. When I write, I zone out."

"I understand."

His boyfriend started a new recording, "Real stories sell because people want to hear about awesome people's lives." Turning a page in his notebook, John said "I'll start." He talked about his life, from manifesting to joining the Brotherhood, from leaving the Brotherhood by taking it down to going to college, from college to starting teaching. He talked about his different relationships with everyone, being bisexual and being team leader. Once he was talked out, he stopped the recording and took a minute to name the newest files. "Your turn."

Wade rambled about his life, as much as he could remember with some shifting details, and adventures. His recording was longer because he wasn't sure about anything. "That was a lot to get off my chest."

"Do you care if I write your story as fictional? It may be too unbelievable to convince my editor that it's all true."

"I don't care. Should I leave you alone so you can write?"

John shook his head as he pulled wireless headphones out of a desk drawer "I don't mind, I'll probably be listening to our recordings a lot."

Bobby had stopped by a few hours into their session to drop off dinner, the only indicator of time they'd had. John mapped out the same story again and again until he had the details ready for a narrative then he switched from audio recordings to music during the drafting process, trading out his tablet and phone to charge the device not in use.

Bobby pulled Wade out of the room at some point and programmed his phone with alarms to tell the other man when to get food. John was completely oblivious to the world as he wrote. After drafting, he stacked all his papers and spare notebooks on top of the books he used to prop his tablet up. With the desk mostly clear, he pulled out his laptop and copied the final draft onto a word processor before repeating the process with the next story. John only eats when food is placed in front of him and only sleeps when his vision blurs, charging all his devices as he sleeps. In a week without classes to teach, he can write at least three stories. Although, John prefers to measure by how many recordings he turns into books. Wade is amazed and a little horrified by his boyfriend's commitment to his craft. The week of the BFE (Battle For the Earth) precedes the school's two-week spring break, which means only students without families to go home to move back in. Spending nearly all three weeks writing results in over a dozen finished stories. John ended his binge with a phone call to his editor to set up a meeting the next day. He then shut everything down and cleaned up his desk for the first time in almost a year, organizing everything so that the workspace is clear.

His writing desk has more storage space than any other desk in the building, with shelves above and drawers below the workspace. Most desks in the school have only drawers beneath the workspace with teachers using filing cabinets and bookshelves in their offices, John doesn't have an office by choice. He has filing cabinets in his classroom and a whole wall lined with bookshelves that students and faculty alike are welcome to borrow from, so long as they sign books out. He's read most of the books himself, using them as reference materials even though they're almost all novels.

With his desk cleaned off, John returned the books he's borrowed from the library and other teachers before seeking out Wade. "Hey, babe."

Wade wheeled on him "You're finally done writing."

"I warned you I zone out. I have a meeting tomorrow to submit my work and I still have to check to make sure my lesson plans from last year are still useable but other than that, I'm all done."

"Charles checked, the pardon plan didn't specify open warrants so your records clean."

"I figured someone had when I saw the date."

"Three weeks," was all Wade said.

"Jubilee talk to you?"

"She was going to propose a threesome but now there's a professional conflict of interest because I sought her out as a therapist." Wade sighed "I need this, the therapy and us being an us but I can't keep being your muse if this is gonna work."

"I wrote over a dozen stories in under three weeks, I'm running out of possible stories. In my meeting tomorrow, I'm going to ask to take some time to find a new, to find something new. Maybe I'll write biographies about the heroes of the BFE, those who fought against Thanos."

Wade took the news well, "So you and me? Our stories, I mean you recorded us recounting our life stories. Are they gonna start this new project?"

"If you want then I'll hold onto them for that. I'm gonna talk to the Avengers and Erik about the new idea, maybe propose it tomorrow at my meeting as an X-Men series. Either way, interviews will be the first step and with classes starting up soon, I'll be too busy to work on a binge like that."

"Okay," Wade said "Maybe you should hold the biographies. We'll be meeting with the Avengers soon anyway."

"To establish a real alliance?"

"Yeah, I guess."

"I'll look at my lesson plans after the meeting tomorrow. What do you want to do, Wade?" The other man mentally called out to Jean, telling her to keep people away from their room.

The next morning, John woke up late and rushed to prepare, removing the biographies from his flash drive. He showered, put on a suit and hurried out the door. His editor, Bradley Miller, was not pleased by his tardiness but John knew he couldn't afford to fire a best selling author who won multiple accolades and tons of prestige for the company. Besides, he was rarely late so Bradley couldn't say he chose to be. "Sorry I'm late, I should've asked for an afternoon appointment after a three week binge." That admission lessened Bradley's scowl as John handed over the USB "I have over a dozen works for you to consider. My muse met with me after the invasion. The school evacuated when it became clear that New York was going to be hit, just so happens our spring break started the week after the invasion. School starts back up next week but I already have a proposal for you, though my teaching still comes first."

Mr. Miller was already looking through his works "What's the proposal?"

"Avengers Chronicles, a series of non-fiction work with each book telling the story of one Avenger. The series would focus on the founders, of course, but could set up for later superhero biographies. In addition, I'd like to go back over my notes from interviews with Magneto, maybe interview him again and record it this time."

"Biographies for superheroes and Magneto?"

"Magneto would be a kick-off book for the X-Men series if the Avengers Chronicles do well. I think now is the time to get competitive. If we could announce this series soon, the company could corner the superhero market. Most of the people fighting the invasion were mutants so letting it be known we already have an in with Magneto might be helpful."

"Would you be willing to come out as John Wilson for this project?"

"Maybe. You should know that the Wilson part of my pen name comes from my boyfriend Wade Wilson, he's also my muse and Deadpool. I already wrote his biography, which is what inspired me to propose superhero biographies but I'm going to hold onto it for now." John said "Let's talk lineups for the potential series. We'll have the founding Avengers in the initial series- Thor, Iron Man, Captain America, Black Widow, Hawkeye, Hulk. If we follow up the Avengers Chronicles with an X-Men version, I think the lineup should consist of Cyclops, Storm, the Phoenix, Wolverine, Professor X and Beast. I'm not sure what any other series' lineup could be."

"Your team could make a follow up series for the X-Men; you, Iceman, Shadowcat, Colossus, Rogue, Nightcrawler and maybe Angel." All but the last two had been exposed by their roles in the Brotherhood and its downfall.

"Where would Deadpool and Magneto fit in?"

"Kick-off books, Magneto for the first X-Men series and Deadpool for the second Avengers series."

"Second Avengers series?"

"I'm thinking the heroes who joined the Avengers after the founding, the guys who stay on."

"What do think about a series for street-level heroes? Like Spider-Man, Daredevil, Luke Cage and Iron Fist?"

"Throw in Jessica Jones and if possible the Punisher and you got a Defenders series. Are you sure you can handle this load?"

"You're asking because school starts Monday?" Bradley nodded. "The next break is for summer, I'll have most of June and August as well as all of July to go on binges. I really only need to get the Avengers Chronicles done this year so we can announce the follow up series. Let me run another idea by you for the Avengers Chronicles. For the cover, let's make them blue with red lettering. Maybe use subtitles like for Thor, use God of Thunder on the spine. I have this image in my head and I want to just do it."

"You arrange the biographies, I'll support you."

"Alright."

"Before you start writing, be sure to have them call me so we can negotiate a contract. Start with the Avengers."

"Will do. Call me when you get through those stories so we can talk logistics."

"Will do. See you then."

"Bye."

John picked up Wade's favorite, chimichangas, on the way home. "Where were you?"

"I told you I had to meet with my editor. Here, I got your favorite."

"How'd the meeting go?" asked Wade around a mouthful of chimichangas.

"It went well. My editor agreed to support me with my Avengers Chronicles if I can arrange the interviews. They might be my coming out books."

"Coming-out books?"

"Yeah. If they win awards then I'll accept on my own behalf."

"Oh," Wade frowned at the empty bag.

"I told my editor about you. I told him the Wilson part of my pen name comes from my boyfriend Wade Wilson, who is Deadpool and my muse. Then I changed the subject before he could say anything to avoid the awkwardness."

"What did you two agree on?"

"The Avengers Chronicles will be announced before another company can come out with competition. After the Chronicles, we'll release a Magneto book to kick off the follow up X-Men series. Your book will kick off a second Avengers series. We're thinking two Avengers series, two X-Men series and a Defenders series focusing on street level heroes to corner the superhero market. The Avengers Chronicles have to come out this year, the rest will be follow up series."

"Wow. How are you going to do this?"

John confessed "Interviews and probably binges throughout the summer." He looked Wade in the eye as he pulled out his phone to record "After a week, you can pull me out of any binge. I'm recording this so you have proof I said it."

"Alright, deal." They shook hands and Wade told John "Now that your binge is over, the meeting with the Avengers is gonna happen tonight. We're having them over for dinner."

"Okay."


	8. Interlude

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This is a sneak peek at my plans for the TaserTooth pair.

Victor Creed came to visit his brother. He was attacked, on the grounds, by a group of people who seemed to just appear wielding swords and guns. Darcy Lewis, also appeared, wielding magic. John couldn't tell what happened or why no one ran to the pair's rescue but the fight came to a standstill when all of the surviving strangers screamed and Darcy said something, Victor nowhere to be seen. Jean and Hank suddenly raced downstairs, the former mentally projecting  _ we're needed in the infirmary _ by way of explanation. Two of the strangers turned out to be mutants, telekinesis and hydrokinesis respectively. Following whatever Darcy did and said, two others were killed when they tried to attack her. Everyone abandoned their weapons when Victor returned. The surviving humans were escorted off the property by Logan and Piotr. Darcy teleported herself and Victor away while the two new mutants went inside.


	9. Avengers

John sat in the middle of the table with Wade beside him at dinner that evening. Everyone wanted to know what the fuck they’d seen. The two mutants that came inside seemed a little confused. They said that they thought they were hunting an evil witch. The telekinetic guy said he thought the witch had killed his parents. Their explanation for why they don’t think that anymore was the witch showed them each other’s minds, leading the guy to discover that another hunter killed his parents. Even though the stories match, both Charles and Logan confirming that they were telling the truth, the situation still didn’t make sense. Both _hunters_ shrugged when confronted by that fact, saying they don’t understand it either.

The founding Avengers, Victor Creed, Darcy Lewis, Pepper Potts and Hope van Dyne joined them. John asked Darcy directly “What are you?”

“I’m a witch,” she answered promptly before jumping into an explanation “Technically I’m the last of my kind, I have magic in my blood. The people Victor and I fought were hunters, they’re the reason most of my people are dead. Unlike what’s his face,”

“Jacob.”

“Unlike Jacob, my parents actually were killed by the hunters who covered it up. I’m not blaming them for no reason, they did it. My mother spent almost her whole life running from hunters, hiding her magic, hoping they’d leave her alone if she didn’t use it. She taught me a couple defensive spells so I could contain the magic I inherited from her.” Darcy let out a huff “In my family, going back many, many, many generations there is a practice of binding to another person. Once upon a time, long, long ago the color of our magic was used to find our perfect match. Now,” she held up her hand to show them the shifting glow “I’m the last of my kind, there is no matching power.” The glow vanished as she lowered her hand. “The way I understand it, my ancestors were actual miracle workers. They’d help people with their magic but then people got greedy and my ancestors started to say no because the miracles they wanted worked were too dangerous. Humans, in their infinite selfishness, decided that we were just hoarding power even though they were told that the magic needed costs too much. Selfish people who heard the word no from the miracle worker decided that said miracle worker was being selfish. As petty people do, they began spreading rumors and lies, accusing the mages of horrendous crimes to get a rise out of people. Thus began what we have today, witches are evil no-good devil worshipping mad women who stuff kids into ovens even though their house is made of sweet treats. What sounds more likely, that Hansel and Gretel is real or that someone was denied a house made out of candy? I don’t know if that legend has even that much grounding in truth. Maybe some of my people pretended to be gods for all I know. That was still over a hundred years ago. In the many years since, hunters have happened. People who dedicate their lives to ending those of people like me, whose only crime is maybe, possibly having evil ancestors. Who sounds more evil? A woman who spends her whole life running or a group that kills and kidnaps people?”

“This binding thing, how does it work?” asked Bobby.

“I’m not gonna go into details on the process but for generations, the people in my family who have inherited magic find the strongest person they can and bond with them. Often, like with my parents, the mage and the person they bond with get married. The bond tethers our magic to them, sharing our power with whoever we think will be strong enough to handle it. I inherited my mother’s magic when she died,” Victor wrapped an arm around her, pulling her close as she broke down.

John put it together before anyone could ask “She felt her mother die. The power passed on in her mother’s final moments.” Changing the subject to give Darcy privacy, John said “My editor says that if I can arrange the interviews, he’ll support a series of Avengers biographies.” John handed Pepper a business card “He just needs someone to negotiate with for the logistics. We’re thinking that the Avengers Chronicles will kick off superhero biographies.”

“When did you last meet with your editor?” asked Pepper.

“This morning, I submitted a bunch of my work and proposed the new project.”

Tony said “I think we’re all in.”

“At the moment we’re looking at five total series with two kick off books. The Avengers Chronicles about the founders, another Avengers series about the expansion, an X-Men series for Scott’s team, another for my team and a Defenders series for street level heroes. The kick off books being one on Magneto before the first X-Men series and a book on Deadpool for the second Avengers series.”

“Wow, that’s a lot,” said Tony.

“If we can manage it, we’ll corner the superhero book market. The first Avengers series has to come out this year to launch the whole thing but the rest, I could do yearly releases. I have time either way, I just submitted a ton of work so I definitely don’t have to finish the Avengers Chronicles until summer but I have to lock them down soon. If you agree to this, you're licensing my publisher alone to produce your biographies.”

Pepper corrected him “We’ll be authorizing you alone to write them.”

John nodded, ceding the point. Wade cut in, “Johnny might be using the Chronicles to come out of anonymity.”

“Maybe. Ideally I’d use the X-Men books so I could call my book in the second series an autobiography.”

“That’s a big step for a writer famous partially for anonymity.”

“If I start going to stuff as John Wilson, I’m bringing Wade which might break up the everyman persona a bit.”

“Not if you make sure people know you’re bi.”

“Can we change the subject? I’ll make weekend trips to the Tower for interviews and book planning until summer break.”

“Alright.” Tony looked around the table and saw Darcy had pulled herself together “I offered Victor a place on the Avengers.”

Victor smiled, showing all his teeth before turning to face Tony “Darcy warned me against letting you design my uniform.”

Clint said “That’s a yes, right?” Victor nodded. “Awesome!“ His excitement earned more than a few confused look. “Pretty sure you all know what a mutant Avenger can do for the international rights movement.”

Tony laughed “I thought you were a mutant.”

“I’m only like a Class One. Hell, I’m not sure how the class system works. As you said when I told you, it’s a little late to make that announcement.”

“Right. So officially, Victor will be the first proper mutant Avenger.”

“You’re a mutant?” asked Kitty.

“Low level, I have enhanced eyesight.”

A dark skinned man appeared in the doorway, staying still and silent until Darcy acknowledged him “Elias!”

The man, Elias’ smile revealed fangs “How are you, Darcy?”

The witch was suddenly in front of Elias, smacking his arm with a touch of mutant strength to make him feel it. “Where were you when they died?”

Elias ducked away, “Ow, where’d you get super-strength?” Darcy pointed at Victor while glaring at Elias. “You’re bonded.”

Tony spoke up “Uh, who is he?”

Wade asked “How many people do you know who appear out of nowhere?”

Darcy huffed and turned to the table “Elias is a two centuries old vampire and he was a friend of my father’s.”

Elias chuckled “Your father had plenty of supernatural friends, always said we helped balance out the crazy in the world.”

“Speaking of, where were you?”

“You know I have to move around a lot, I didn’t know they died until I heard about a new Mistress.”

“Mistress?” echoed Tony.

“That’s what certain supernatural beings call me because supposedly, my ancestors were responsible for the creation of their kind.”

“Did you beat the hunters?” asked Elias.

“Yeah, why?” Darcy put a hand on his arm to keep him from leaving without answering.

“There’s some things that my kind has been keeping safe for you. We were to destroy them if the hunters ever succeeded." He paused, looking at her hand "I’ll go get them if you let go.”

Darcy loosened her grip “Remember to leave my name out of things. Names have power, Elias. I’m gonna sit down.” She let go and returned to her seat.

“Vampires are real?” said Hope.

Darcy groaned, “Name a supernatural creature, I’ll tell you if they’re real or not to my knowledge.”

“Werewolves?” suggested Tony.

“That’s a complicated one, yes but even I don’t know what triggers the shift. As far as I know, they’re nomadic people who live in packs. Alphas don’t just rule, they have to ensure everyone in the pack lives as long as possible and they lead certain ceremonies like a chieftain. At least, that’s how I understand it. I met an Alpha once when I was little. The people with her were called Betas, like instead of a name they were just called Beta and she was just called Alpha. The way she talked was weird, she seemed like she was flirting a lot, especially with my dad. I found out later that names have power. I guess she could flirt with anyone who wasn’t a werewolf because she couldn’t mate with them so there was no harm to be done. My parents were already married and my mother didn’t have a problem with the Alpha being all flirty. I don’t know. Alphas have to be strong leaders, I know that.”

“Women can be Alphas?”

“In actual wolf packs, there’s an Alpha couple. I guess werewolves emulate that a bit.”

Hope began “We know witches are real-”

“Before you ask about wizard, warlock or whatever. Yes, those are real. Mage is the gender neutral term. Magician usually refers to a fraud. Sorcerer is kind of like an outsider term. Men with magic in my family either call themselves a wizard or warlock, usually the former but sometimes the latter depending on the era.”

Hope said “I was gonna ask about fairies.”

“That’s complicated. For one thing, they’re called Fae. I don’t know what they are, like compared to me. I don’t know where either of us get our magic, I don’t know where my ancestors got magic from or where Fae get magic from. What I do know is there are two kinds, dark and light, Unseelie and Seelie, or whatever you want to call them. I also know they’re either shapeshifters or humanoid enough that they can impersonate my kind, witches and wizards. In fact, they have. I don’t know much about them beyond they exist, they have magic and they’ve impersonated witches and/or wizards, historically speaking. As for the other stuff, what they look like, where they live, where they come from or even what they’re like, I have no idea. I can’t even tell you if they still exist. I don’t know.”

“Don’t know what?” asked Elias, returning with five other people. Each carried a small stack of books, three of them with a box on top of the stack.

“Uh, who are your friends?”

Elias smirked “A vampire, a werewolf, two fairies and a couple of othersiders walk into a bar.”

“That’s not even a joke, that’s a disaster waiting to happen. Imagine even half of you got drunk, it’d be a bloodbath.”

Bruce raised his hand and Elias nodded to him “What is an othersider?” The questions seemed to peak the interest of his companions, two no doubt wanted to see what he’d say.

Darcy answered “Othersiders are exactly what the name implies, beings from the other side. They’ve inspired so many myths, I don’t even know where to start.” She huffed “How about I start with the most current?” She had everyone’s attention. “Elias brought two fairies and two othersiders because there are always two sides to those kinds of beings. Seelie and Unseelie Fae, light and dark respectively. The same, as I said, goes for othersiders. Think, what polar opposite beings do humans currently believe in.” As the table began working on her riddle, she said “I’ll give you a hint and say religious symbols don’t do jack squat to vampires.”

Steve got it, looking at the six supposedly supernatural beings “Angels and demons.” Two of Elias’ companions nodded.

“Almost all myths about armies of otherworldly beings feature othersiders. The obvious exceptions being vampire, werewolf and Fae myths. Plus Thor eliminates any armies in the Norse myths as he proves they’re just aliens. Angels and demons are the most current examples but there are plenty, most are rather obscure. I guess the easiest way to think of them is as yin and yang, opposites but the same. Course, if I remember right then demons are just fallen angels.”

“Right,” drawled Steve.

“Anyway,” Darcy said “You have stuff for me now that the hunters are gone.”

Elias set his stack down beside her plate, the others following suit with the last two putting their boxes on top of each other. The vampire added “Some othersiders have stayed in this world, retaining the form they took when they crossed over.”

“Those are not-so-obscure supernatural beings. Othersider is a general term for a supernatural being, like how Enhanced is a general term for a superpowered person.”

“So if you know they’re supernatural but you’re not sure what kind, calling someone an othersider is not offensive?”

Two of the beings with Elias smirked, the man said, “Just the opposite-”

The woman finished “You might be calling them the proper name.”

“So you two are othersiders?”

“Exactly,” they said simultaneously.

“Othersiders aren’t necessarily enemies,” explained Darcy. “They’re just often portrayed as such. Werewolves and vampires can carry on a conversation without wanting to kill each other on instinct.”

The woman next to Elias said “That is an offensive stereotype.”

“So is calling vampires vamps,” added Elias, “That’s a racial slur, y’know.”

The two fairies looked at each other before the dark-haired man said “The real difference between my people and other fairies is our methods. I am not inherently evil and she,” pointing to the blond woman, “is not inherently good. The primary difference between us and you is that we are not human, we are Fae.”

Tony asked “You’re gender-fluid?”

“Yes, we are.” said the blond woman “How can you tell?”

“I could’ve sworn you were a dude when you got here.”

The dark-haired man got a smug look on his face. Tony stood and left, tapping Steve and Hope on the shoulder as he passed them, telling the six supernatural beings “If you wouldn’t mind waiting for a few minutes, I need to run something by the Avengers team leaders.”

Stopping in a classroom, Hope asked “What’s up?”

“Supernatural beings don’t legally exist, that’s why the hunters are able to literally get away with murder. I think that superheroes could help the supernatural without exposing them and since we’re already expanding, maybe we could offer them a safe place to stay when they’re being hunted. I’m not suggesting we try to go public with the fact that vampires, werewolves and fairies are real. I’m suggesting we offer to support the supernatural in times of need. You two are technically team leaders so I need you to sign off on this.”

Steve and Hope shared a look before the former said “We’re in.”

Tony said “Great, you can pitch the idea.” They returned to the dining room, Steve stopping on his way in to speak with the six people standing by the door. If their nods were anything to go by, they agreed with the idea. After they left, the two superhero teams got down to business, ironing out the terms of their alliance and deciding what causes to support with their political capital from the BFE. Ever since the Avengers joined the mutant rights movement, creating a foundation for the alliance against Thanos, the two teams have always worked together to plan their next step. The combined might of the planet’s superheroes has worked wonders for many worthy causes.

**Author's Note:**

> Villains, mercenaries, heroes, antiheroes- everyone fought to stop Thanos' invasion. Mutants were clumped into the X-Men chain of command, which made Pyro field leader based on skill because he was a strategist during his brief stint with the Brotherhood. Non-mutants were put under the Avengers' chain of command, as honorary Avengers if they weren't a part of another team like the Defenders. The Punisher was made an honorary Defender, he'd helped Red out and the Avengers would otherwise take measures to ensure he stayed on their side (AKA: make sure he didn't kill the rest of the non-heroes)


End file.
